Gas-generating system.



PATENTED NOV. 6, 1906.

F. H. TREAT. GAS GENERATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14, 1904.

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PATENTED NOV. 6, 1906.

F. H. TREAT.

GAS GENERATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 1 30.14. 1904'.

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INVENTOR 5 M lbw; 76am r WITNESSES m: NORFIS rsrsn: ca., WASHINGTON n.c.

No. 885,293. PATENTED NOV. 6, 1906. F. H. TREAT.

GAS GENERATING SYSTEM.

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P. H. TREAT. GAS GENERATING SYSTEM.

APPLIOATION FILED DEC. 14, 1904.

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PATENTED NOV. 6, 1906.

1. H. TREAT. GAS GENERATING SYSTEM.

APPLIGATION FILED DEO.14, 1904.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1906;

Ap lication fil d December 14, 1904-.- Serial No. 236,823.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. TREAT, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful GasGener ating System, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of agas-making system constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 isan end elevation of the same, partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a sectionalfront elevation. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of one of the units, andFigs. 5 and 6 are respectively a sectional side elevation and top planview of the swinging connection for the top of a producer.

My invention relates to that class of gasproducers wherein thegenerators are operated intermittently on the downdraft princi le. 2

Heretofore where producer-gas is made by a downdraft and where water-gasis produced by forcing steam upwardly through one producer and thenpassing it down through another producer to fix the tarry matterscarried therein such producers have been set in units, each unitcontaining two producers, a boiler, a scrubber, an exhauster, awater-gasholder, and a producergas holder. In some cases the producer-gas holderof such a unit has been used as a mixed-gas holder, the water-gas andproducer-gas being mixed by means of handregulated valves. In suchsystems during the periods when producer-gas is being made there is noprovision for regulating each producer-that is, if one fire is moreopenthan the other it will take an excessive share of the air passingthrough and the gas will not be of the proper quality. My inventionovercomes this difficulty and it consists in providingindependentgenerators any one of which may be connected with any other during thewatergas periods, while in the producer period each generator works asan independent unit and can be regulated independently of the othergenerators. In the preferred form of my system where boilers are used Iprovide for each unit a single producer, a boiler, an exhauster, and ascrubber. These units are soarranged that any one of the producers maybe connected to any other, so that during the water-gas period any twoproducers may be combined whose fires are of the proper character forcooperating during this period. I thus obtain inde pendent control andregulation of each generator and at the same time may be enabled tocombine two generators whose fires are more correctly related to eachother than where the same two generators are always combined during thiswater-gas period.

My invention further consists in certain arrangements of the generatorsand the combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings I show a series of generators 2, which may be of anydesirable type, their lower ends being connected in the form shownthrough a port 3 to a steam-generator 4, through the tubes 5 of whichthe producergas passes to a box 6 and through pipe 7 to the bottom ofthe scrubber 8. The exhauster 9, which is shown as being a blower of theRoot type, is connected to a pipe 10, leading from the top of thescrubber, and sucks the gas through the boiler and scrubber and forcesit through pipe 11 into pipe 12, containing a control-valve 13, by whichthe flow into the main 14 is controlled. I have shown the boiler asprovided with a combustionchamber 15, to which fuel may be applied instarting the plant or in furnishing an auxiliary source of heat.

The steam-inlet pipe 16, leading from the boiler i or from any source ofsteam under pressure, may lead into the channel between the lower end ofthe producer and the boiler, as shown, or into any suitable connectionfrom which the steam will flow intothe lower end of the producer belowthe grate.

The upper end of each producer is preferably of inverted-cone shape andis provided with a top casting or plate 17, having a large hole oropening at the center corresponding to the top opening of theproducer-body. On the fiat upper face of this plate 17 slides plate 18,having an eccentric hole 19, arranged to register with the hole andplate 17 in one position, the plate 18 having a concave seat around itshole, which is engaged by the curved end portion of ahorizontallyswinging pipe 20, whose other end 21 revolves within theenlarged mouth 22' ofthe branch pipe 23. The socket connection betweenthe pipe 20 and the plate 18 is to allow selfadjustment of these partsduring their motions.

The pipe is swung to open or closed position by the operator, and toclamp the pipe in adjusted position I provide the lever 24, which ispivotally connected to lugs 25 on the pipe and carries at one end ascrew 26, extending through a guide 27 on the pipe and having a lowerend 28 arranged to clamp against the flange of the mouth 22. Thehand-nut 29 engages the upper portion of the screw.

The other end. of the lever 24 is forked or provided with side arms 30,having supporting-wheels 31 mounted thereon, these wheels traveling onthe top plate of the producer. The end portion 32 of the lever isarranged to slide under abracket or lug 33 on the producer, and when inthe position shown in Fig. 5 a turning of the hand-nut will force downthe plate 18 and close thejoint connecting to the producer..

The pipe 23 from each producer leads to a connecting-pipe 34, whichleads along each producer and has closed ends. The function of this pipe34 is simply to connect any two of the producers which may be desired.

When two of the producers are connected through their pipes 20 and thepipe 34, the steam flows up through one producer and, is converted intowater-ges and carrying with it part of the tarry or volatile mattersflows up into pipe 20 of this producer, then through the pipe 34, anddown through pipe 20 into the top of the other producer, to which it iscoupled. It passes down through this producer under the driving force ofthe steam, and being fixed the gas flows out through the boiler andthence through the scrubber.

From the pipe 10, leading from the top of each scrubber, a branch 35,having a valve 36, leads to a pipe 37, which connects to the water-gasholder 37 (Indicated in Fig.1.) From this pipe 37 each producer has apipe 38 leading down to a small Root exhauster 39, from which the pipe40, containing valve 41, conducts the water-gas into the main 14. Theexhausters 39 and 9 are preferably driven at fixed relative speedsforexample,

by pulleys on their shafts connected by the belt 42, as shown. TheeXhauster 39 is preferably smaller than the exhauster 9, so that byregulating the size and speed of these two eXhausters the proportion ofwater-gas which. is fed into the main may be predetermined, Thewater-gas passing into the main is drawn from one of the producers whichat such time is making watergas. This water-gas is delivered into theholder as it is made and will be gradually drawn from the holder for miXing with the producer-gas.

In order to allow each exhauster to work continuously independent of theconnections at any particular time, I preferably provide a by-passaround each eXhauster, so that it may be pumped in a closed circuit.Thus I show the bypass 43, having valve 44, leading around the eXhauster9 and the corresponding by-pass 45, containing valve 46, leading aroundthe eXhauster 39. When the valves in these by-pass pipes are opened, theexhausters will simply pump the gas around and back through theexhausters again.

In order to provide for passing the producer-gas directly to the openair, I provide the stack 47, which is connected by valvepipe 48 with thepipe 12, leading to the main.

In order to drive the exhausters, I have shown electric motors 49,having slow-motion connection 50 with the exhauster 9, the smalleXhauster being driven from the large one.

In this plant or system it will be noted that each unit consists of aproducer, a boiler, a scrubber, and an exhauster and that the generatorsare so arranged that any one may be connected with any other during theperiod of making water-gas in two generators so coupled together.

In operating the system continuously with a plant of four generators, asshown, one of the generators would ordinarily be cut off for cleaningpurposes. This is done by closing the valves 13 and 41. One of the othergenerators would be working on the producer period, while the tworemaining would be connected and producing water-gas. Any two generatorsopened to the connectingpipe are coupled to each other and will producewater-gas, which is partially generated in one, passes up therefrom, andthen down through the other, which is coupled thereto. At the same timethe third generator is cut off from these two and may be makingproducer-gas. In such case the one generator which is operating on theproducer period would have its top open, the pipe connection being swungto one side and. its mouth closed by resting on the flat blank surfaceof the top producer-plate. The air entering this producer would besucked down through the bed of fire, and the producer-gas thus formedwould flow through the boiler and the scrubber and be forced into themain. At the same time steam will be forced in through one of the pairof coupled generators and being forced up through one generator willform water-gas. The closed tops of these two producers are connected atthis time to the common connecting-pipe, so that the watergas will flowfrom the top of the one through the connecting-pipe into the top of theother and thence down through it to fix the volatile matters carried bythe water-gas. The wa' ITS ter-gas passing from the bottom of the second coupled generator will flow through the boiler and the scrubber andpass to the water-gas holder, with the exception of the measuredquantity, which is drawn down through the small eXhauster and forcedinto the main. Thus the main is receiving producer-gas, and at the sametime a predetermined proportion of water-gas, which proportion may bevaried as desired. As the gas passes through the boiler or other heaterthe greater proportion of its heat is absorbed by the water or airsurrounding the pipes through which the gas passes, and the temperatureof the gas is so reduced that it can be controlled by a common form ofvalve, the heater thus serving as a cooler for the gas. The scrubberalso serves to further cool the gas.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Inasmuch as each generator works independently of all others at thetime when it is operating on the producer period it may be easily andeffectively regulated to give the character of gas desired. At the sametime two other generators may be coupled together to produce watergas,and owing to the number of independent units which may be coupledtogether I am enabled to select two of the generators which are inproper condition to couple for water-gas making. The proportion ofwater-gas which is mixed with the producer gas can be predetermined andwill remain in this fixed proportion until it is desired to vary suchproportion. The system enables a producer of large diameter to be usedfor making producer-gas for a givensized unit, and this is of especialadvantage where wood is employed in the generator or any material whichis bulky as compared to its gas-producing capacity. The connections areeasily made and changed. By making each generator a separate unit I amenabled to do away with a number of controllingvalves, which are subjectto rapid deterioration under the action of the hot gases.

The number of generators employed in my system may be of course variedwidely, as may also the character of the generator and its connections.The boilers may or may not be used, and the make-up of each unit may bechanged. During the Water-gas period one generator may be used byitself, the water-gas being taken directly from this one producerinstead of passing it through a second one with less perfect resultsthan where two are coupled together, as inmy preferred form. Thecombustible may be wood, coal, coke, or any other desirable material,and many other changes may be made without departing from my invention.

I claim 1. A gas-producer system having generators arranged toalternately produce Watergas and producer-gas by the intermittentsystem, means for supplying steam, a connecting gas-conduitv extendingadjacent to said producers, a gas-pipe leading from each producer tosaid common pipe, whereby water-gas may be passed from any one of theproducers to any other of said producers in the system, and means forcutting off each of said gas-connecting pipes separately; substantiallyas described.

2. A gas-producer system having gener ators arranged to alternatelyproduce watergas and producer-gas by the intermittent system, agas-conduit common to all of said producers in the series, separategas-pipes connecting the common pipe to each generator, and means forsimultaneously admitting air to any generator and closing itsconnecting-pipe; substantially as described.

3. In a gas-producer system, a series of independent units, each unitcontaining a generator and an exhauster, and means for connecting anyone of said generators to any other unit substantially as described.

4. A gas-producer system having generators arranged to alternatelyproduce watergas and producer-gas by the intermittent system, a conduitcommon to all of the generators in the series, and a swinging pipe connection between each generator and said common pipe arranged. to openthe generator to the air when said connection is swung to out thegenerator ofi from the common pipe; substantially as described.

5. In a gas-generator system, a series of independent units, each havinga generator, a scrubber and an eXhauster, and means for connecting anyone of said units to any other of said units in the battery;substantially as described.

6. A gas-producer system having generators arranged to alternatelyproduce watergas and producer-gas by the intermittent system, a mainarrangedto receive producergas, and means for forcing into said main aproportionate quantity of water-gas; substantially as described.

7. A gas-producer system having generators arranged to alternatelyproduce watergas and producer-gas by the intermittent system, a mainarranged to receive producergas from the system, a water-gas holderarranged to receive water-gas from the generators, and means fordiverting a proportionate quantity of water-gas and positively forcingit into the main receiving producergas; substantially as described.

8. In a gas-producer system, a series of independent units, each unitcontaining a generator and a scrubber, and means for connecting any oneof said generators to any other unit substantially as described.

9. In a gas-producer system, a series of ingenerators to any other unit;substantially :0 dependent units, each unit containing a genasdescribed. erator and a cooler, and means for connecting In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set any one of said generators to any otherunit; f my hand. substantially as described.

10. In a gas-producer system, a series of I independent units, each unitcontaining a generator and means for producing a draft, and means forconnecting any one of said FRANCIS I-I. TREAT.

Witnesses: HENRY L. KETOHAM,

SEWARD BABBITT.

